When cleaning the front windshield or windshields of large motor vehicles such as trucks, buses and recreational vehicles, it is usually impossible for a person to stand on the ground and reach the front windshield for cleaning without using a cleaning tool having an extended handle. When it is desirable to reach the windshield for hand scrubbing, washing and cleaning, it is common for the operator to stand on a front tire or on a front fender which is sometimes not easily accessible or may be slippery due to water, ice and/or snow.
Different forms of step devices have been constructed or proposed for mounting on the tire of a motor vehicle to facilitate working on the engine of the vehicle or cleaning the vehicle, such as the devices, for example, disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 324,019, 376,784 and 394,628. However, such step devices are limited in their uses and are not helpful for cleaning of the windshields of a large bus or truck.
The present invention is directed to an improved folding step ladder which has multiple uses and is ideally suited for use with large trucks, buses, recreational vehicles (RVs), and the like, to assist in cleaning the front windshields of the vehicles. The step ladder of the invention is also adapted for use with smaller RVs and truck campers to assist the operator in reaching higher places on the vehicle. The step ladder of the invention folds in half for compact storage, is constructed of a durable and rigid plastics material, and incorporates retractable arms for seating on the top of a motor vehicle tire or for making a short stable step ladder.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a first ladder section and a second ladder section, of generally the same shape and size, are each molded of a rigid plastics material with each ladder section having parallel spaced elongated leg portions integrally connected by two parallel spaced step portions. The leg and step portions have channel-like cross-sectional configurations and are reinforced by internal walls. Adjacent ends of the ladder sections have laterally projecting overlapping ears for receiving pivot pins which provide for pivoting the ladder sections between a folded collapsed position and a fully extended position where the ladder sections are in longitudinal alignment. The leg portions of the second or upper ladder section define longitudinally extending cavities which receive pivotally connected arms moveable to horizontal positions for seating on a motor vehicle tire. The arms may also be releasably connected to the leg portions of the first ladder section to provide a short A-shaped step ladder.